Chapter 52: Opening the Coffin

I have lived in Mohe since I was a child, where the temperature is extremely low year-round, and I had never laid eyes on a reptile like this skink before.

The foul-smelling coffin fluid trickled out in a diminishing stream. The Sun brothers exchanged glances and nodded in tacit agreement.

The black coffin liquid flowed across the golden outer coffin board, intertwining yellow and black hues in a sight that churned one's stomach.

"Let's get to it, Third Brother. A golden coffin with a silver outer shell—since it's this grand, I must see what the owner of this tomb actually looks like."

Third Brother nodded, and the two men brandished their entrenching tools simultaneously.

"The outer shell boards are stuck tight against the coffin. We've got to put our backs into it!"

Then, a harsh, grating screech of metal rang out. Under the leverage of the entrenching tools, the golden outer shell board began to separate, inch by inch, from the innermost coffin.

After quite a bit of effort.

The outer golden shell fell away, finally revealing the coffin wrapped inside.

This coffin was pitch black throughout. Thanks to the excellent sealing of the outer golden coffin and silver shell, the coffin itself had been exceptionally well preserved, showing not the slightest trace of collapse or deformation.

The material used to craft this black coffin was sunk-wood. The Boss was the one in our crew who fenced the looted goods; he had a sharp eye and recognized it at once. With a grave expression, the Boss said, "If I'm not mistaken, this is a sunk-wood coffin made of aged pagoda tree wood."

"Aged sunk-wood pagoda tree?"

I swallowed hard and whispered, "No way, Boss. Isn't it golden Phoebe sunk-wood? How could anyone use pagoda tree wood for a coffin back then?"

"You've only got half of it right, Yunfeng. There are many types of sunk-wood, not just golden Phoebe sunk-wood, but also red Chinese mahogany, green bamboo oak, cypress, wingnut, yew, mulberry, and more. According to common knowledge, people think golden Phoebe sunk-wood is the rarest and most precious. Actually, that's a misconception. What is truly rare is sunk-wood from the pagoda tree. This kind of wood rots not in a thousand years, and neither rats nor insects will bite it."

"Besides, from the perspective of Feng Shui, pagoda tree wood is cool in nature and carries a strong Yin energy, making it the most suitable material for preserving corpses."

Sister Red also looked at the coffin and nodded, clearly agreeing with the Boss's assessment.

On this pitch-black sunk-wood coffin were five bronze coffin nails. Third Brother counted them twice and finally confirmed that there were indeed five nails.

"Shall I pull the nails, Boss?" Third Brother's expression was somewhat uneasy.

"Pull them! Open the coffin and strike it rich!"

However, just as the entrenching tool touched a coffin nail, something happened.

The aged sunk-wood pagoda tree coffin suddenly shuddered, and a muffled sound echoed from within.

Thinking I had misheard, I was about to ask Sister Red beside me if she had heard the sound from inside the coffin, when the coffin shuddered once more!

It was neither a misheard sound nor a trick of my eyes! This time I heard it clearly.

There was definitely some living creature inside that coffin!

Terrified, I involuntarily took a few steps back and stammered, "There... there's something inside, there's something in the coffin!"

The Sun brothers quickly retreated two paces, and Third Brother's face turned pale as he swore, "Damn it, impossible! With how well sealed the golden coffin and silver shell are, how could anything have gotten inside!"

He meant that perhaps a rat or something had slipped into the coffin.

"No, Third Brother, it might not be a rat..."

He immediately glared at me. "Don't talk nonsense, Yunfeng! What do you mean not a rat? It's just a rat! Let's not scare ourselves!"

Rebuked, I panicked as well and blurted out, "Third Brother, let's run! What if it's a corpse-demon or a zombie?!" The moment I said those words, a chill ran down my spine, and goosebumps broke out all over my body.

"Damn it, what zombie or corpse-demon! I've followed Chief Wang down into so many large tombs, and there's no such thing! Stop talking nonsense and scaring people, Yunfeng!"

"Open it! Open it right now!" Having said that, Third Brother hectically grabbed his entrenching tool, took two direct steps forward, and aimed it at a coffin nail.

We stood frozen in place, not daring to draw a full breath, afraid of distracting him.

As he pried out the third coffin nail, Third Brother leaned in closer, pressing his ear against the coffin lid to listen carefully to the movement inside.

Two or three minutes later, he suddenly turned around, his eyes wide, and said, "Th... there seems to be the sound of breathing inside!"

At that moment, I suddenly recalled the nightmare I had after losing consciousness earlier. Connecting it to the protagonist of that dream, I pointed at the coffin with trembling hands and cried, "Third Brother, don't open it!"

My warning came too late.

With a loud roar, the veins bulging on the back of his hands, he cursed furiously, "There are no cowards in the Northern School! You want to scare your old man? Not a chance!"

"Clack, clack!" The last two coffin nails.

Dropped out...

He placed both hands on the coffin lid and shoved it away with a fierce heave.

Sister Red tightly gripped her small dagger, while the Boss held his entrenching tool high, ready to bring it smashing down the instant anything dared to show its face from the coffin.

After pushing the coffin lid open, Third Brother stood with his back to us, frozen stiff in place as if under an immobilization spell.

"What is it, Third Brother! What kind of creature is in the coffin?!"

As if he hadn't heard the Boss, he remained locked in the posture of pushing the coffin lid, unmoving.

"Third Brother!" the Boss yelled, lifting his entrenching tool high as he charged straight forward.

Sister Red and I immediately rushed over to check the situation as well.

When we reached the coffin and looked inside, not only Third Brother, but all of us were struck dumb! We stood there utterly stupefied!

Lying inside the coffin was a face very familiar to us.

It was Second Brother.

It was Sun Laoer, Sun Lianfu, who had been missing from our crew for half a year!

This scene was far too bizarre.

Surrounded by the chilling cold inside the sunk-wood pagoda tree coffin, Sun Laoer's original clothes were long gone. At this moment, he was dressed in a loose gray robe, his entire body appearing a full size fatter, with his clothes bulging all over.

Sun Laoer's face was ashen, his lips crimson, and his brows tightly furrowed as he lay in the coffin. His hands were crossed and placed flat across his chest, and his expression looked deeply painful.

"Second Brother! Laoer!" Regaining their senses, the Sun brothers cried out in alarm.

Who could have imagined that Sun Laoer, who had suddenly vanished for six months, would now turn up inside a golden coffin and silver shell fit for a feudal king?

This matter was too bizarre, too uncanny! Had we not seen it with our own eyes, we would never have believed such a tale.

Now, Sun Laoer lay in the coffin with his ashen face and red lips, and if one listened closely, his faint breathing could still be heard. Looking at his chest, it was likewise rising and falling in slight rhythms.

Third Brother's eyes were red-rimmed. Cupping Sun Laoer's cheeks, he choked out, "Second Brother, what... what has happened to you? Why did you end up in a coffin? Who on earth harmed you like this, Second Brother..."

Months of hardship, half a year of anguish, and all the previous terror—all of it melted into two lines of clear tears at this moment of brotherly reunion.

For a time, Third Brother collapsed over the edge of the coffin, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Stop crying!" Sister Red rebuked upon seeing this. "A grown man crying like a bride! Hurry up and get Laoer out of there!"

"Right, right," Third Brother realized belatedly, scrambling frantically. "Get him out, get him out."

We all crowded forward, wanting to lend a hand in lifting Second Brother out of the coffin.

Just then, I accidentally brushed against the gray robe Second Brother was wearing.

Looking down, I saw it with absolute clarity.

Beneath Second Brother's clothes, something like a snake was writhing continuously, twisting and turning.

Then, inadvertently, a slender, dark-yellow tail slipped out from beneath his garment.

This tail swayed from side to side and brushed against me.

The instant sensation was cool and slippery.

Utterly devoid of warmth.